Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Purchases 901 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 105,304 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 901 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $14,173,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies during the third quarter worth $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 68.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 234 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter worth about $46,000.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:A opened at $152.41 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $137.50 and a 200 day moving average of $137.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market capitalization of $43.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 1.06. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $124.16 and a 52 week high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.05. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.43% and a net margin of 19.80%. The firm had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.38 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.248 dividend. This is a boost from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.40%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $286,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,947,800. This represents a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on A. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Barclays cut their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.62.

About Agilent Technologies

Agilent Technologies, Inc provides application focused solutions to the life sciences, diagnostics, and applied chemical markets worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Life Sciences and Applied Markets, Diagnostics and Genomics, and Agilent CrossLab. The Life Sciences and Applied Markets segment offers liquid chromatography systems and components; liquid chromatography mass spectrometry systems; gas chromatography systems and components; gas chromatography mass spectrometry systems; inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry instruments; atomic absorption instruments; microwave plasma-atomic emission spectrometry instruments; inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry instruments; raman spectroscopy; cell analysis plate based assays; flow cytometer; real-time cell analyzer; cell imaging systems; microplate reader; laboratory software; information management and analytics; laboratory automation and robotic systems; dissolution testing; and vacuum pumps, and measurement technologies.